In Conversation

New Academy President John Bailey on Diversity, Museum Plans, and the Oscars Telecast

The cinematographer discusses what it means for a below-the-line craftsman to take the high-profile gig, how he’ll tackle the Academy’s costly museum and ambitious diversity initiatives, and the one thing he’s not sure he’ll do on Oscar night.

On August 9, for the first time in its 90-year history, the Academy chose as its new president a member of the camera crew: cinematographer John Bailey, whose credits include Ordinary People,Groundhog Day,The Big Chill, and A Walk in the Woods. Bailey, 75, steps into the high-profile job at a crucial moment, when the Academy is engaged in carrying out ambitious and controversial diversity initiatives, building a $400 million museum, and redefining itself in an era of huge shifts in the entertainment industry. Bailey, who is married to film editor Carol Littleton, spoke with Vanity Fair about how the group is paying for that museum, what it means to have a below-the-line man in the film industry’s pre-eminent role, and the one thing he’s not sure he’ll do on Oscar night.

Vanity Fair: You’re the first cinematographer ever to hold this job, and only the second person to come from the crafts side of the business. What does that mean to you?

I think it’s long overdue . . . not just to cinematographers, but to all the people who are in the trenches, making the movies, shot by shot, scene by scene, day after day in sometimes the most beautiful and sometimes the most ugly and adverse environments you can imagine. That’s somebody who knows about their dedication, commitment, and their skills, and how they all come together in a hopefully beautiful harmony to actually get a movie made. That’s a very different thing than being given a finished movie and marketing and releasing it. I feel it has sent a message to filmmakers that they are included at the table. There’s a sense that the Academy could be much more open and embracing. There are those who feel that Hollywood is elitist. But things have been changing so much at the Academy, with the diversity and international outreach. It’s a very different Academy, especially under [Academy C.E.O.] Dawn Hudson, who has given long overdue attention to those issues.

It was about two and a half years ago that the Academy passed its ambitious and somewhat controversial diversity goals. How do you see the Academy continuing to fulfill those goals going forward?

The most immediate thing I can refer to was last Friday morning, [when] the near 70 men and women of many diverse backgrounds had their graduation from the Academy Gold internship program. They were all there with their parents, their friends. It was thrilling. I sat there in the first row after I’d made my introductory remarks. There’s tremendous international outreach. There are just so many thousands of very experienced filmmakers out there who we are finding.

Under the last few Academy presidents, the job has expanded to become a full-time or nearly full-time position. You’ve already shot three movies this year. Will you continue to work?

I’m committed to not working this year. Carol and I talked about it. I said if I step up to this and somehow I do become the president, I’m not going to work this next year. It wasn’t a question of losing anything . . . It’s unlike anything I’ve ever done before. I’ve never been in any kind of executive or public prominent role. I’m very comfortable with it. I’ve not exactly been invisible my entire career. I just turned 75, and it’s a great adventure. Just when you think most people are being retrospective in the way they look at their lives, I’m looking forward.

The construction of the Academy Museum is a big item on your agenda. There’s a lot of concern about how much of a financial burden it places on the Academy. How will you handle that burden going forward?

Money, money, money. Fund-raising. There was a blip a while back where the fund-raising tapered off. It’s accelerated now. Laura Dern has been instrumental. Bob Iger has been instrumental. [Academy Museum Managing Director] Kathy DeShaw has been coming up with all kinds of ways to contribute, naming and dedicating things. Even the pillars in the old May Company Building—you can dedicate a pillar for $1 million. The fundraising is at a very exciting point right now. As the Museum itself is rising above grade and people are starting to see what it is, that’s going to be an added inducement. One of the issues was, there was so much infrastructure work below ground, in terms of stabilizing, archeological and ecological safety guards, the enormous amount of concrete that had to be poured. For a lot of people it was a hole in the ground. I’m optimistic that as we see the museum take on its architectural outline it’s going to be very exciting for people.

This past Oscar telecast was the most exciting I’ve ever covered, but I assume it’s safe to say the Academy does not want a repeat of the best picture envelope handoff. Are you satisfied the problems that led to that mix-up have been addressed?

Dawn and the board of governors and the officers had pretty much a full board meeting that dealt with this issue. PricewaterhouseCoopers was there to explain what happened, how it happened, and that it was never going to happen again. They were very much hat in hand, and they should have been. I’ve only been on this job a few days, so I’m not up to speed with what new protocols have been put into place. But I know there have been a number of them, with double and triple-checking—how the envelopes are dealt with in terms of redundancy, and even the printing on the envelopes. One of the things I noticed right away was most of the presenters carry the envelope up there, and the category is written on the front of the envelope. But they carry it because they open it from the back side. When Warren [Beatty] opened it, he’s holding it in his hand flap up, so he didn’t even see what the category was. For want of a nail, the battle was lost.

Last spring, when I asked Cheryl Boone Isaacs what advice she might have for the incoming president, she talked about being in the glare of the spotlight. Have you thought about what it will feel like to walk on the stage on Oscar night?

I haven’t said I would do that yet. Right now, on a personal level, I feel it’s two or three minutes of time that could be better spent on the show itself. What I do understand from the 1,200 or so e-mails I’ve received over the last five or six days is that there’s a sense among people . . . that having somebody in the trenches, that this is a voice they can relate to. If my going up on stage for a minute sends a nonverbal message, that would be fine. I don’t have any agenda regarding public appearances. To be honest, I never really thought about that aspect of it. My sense was that my love of the Academy and my commitment to the Academy programs was what I was thinking of. I’m being quickly disabused of that when I see how much public responsibility there can be. I’m willing to embrace that, and I feel confident I’ll be able to do that. I’m not an inarticulate person.

You maintain a blog at the American Cinematographer Web site. In fact I, was surprised to see you even posted an entry this past weekend, on Jeanne Moreau. Will you keep that up?

I’m starting my ninth year. I’ve done about 275 of them by now. The Moreau one—I had no idea it would come out this week, but I like that, because Jeanne Moreau is a woman with a strong presence. She’s always played these incredible real women. She and Sam Shepard died within a day of each other. Sam Shepard seemed to get all the media attention, and I hardly heard anything about Jeanne Moreau. I said to Carol, that’s bullshit! And it’s not just because you and I love European cinema. This woman has brought the identity of strong, empowered women to cinema worldwide. Jeanne Moreau is a unique figure in cinema. I said, I’ve got to do something about this. This is not right that she isn’t getting her moment. Anyway, I enjoy writing. I wanted to be for the American New Wave what [French film critic and theorist] André Bazin was for the French New Wave.

The entertainment industry is in the midst of huge change, as new media companies like Netflix and Amazon become an ever-bigger part of the business. But also raise questions about what, exactly, a movie is. Is a movie only something you project on a big screen at a theater?

It’s something that Academy has to address. The sense of urgency is becoming stronger in terms of how do we define a movie, in terms of what qualifies. The fact of the matter is, many of the things that are on Netflix, Amazon, or any other streaming service, they are motion pictures. They just have been made through a streaming service. I don’t know what the answer is, but I think we have to engage it. In terms of the movie experience, I agree with Chris Nolan: there is no substitute for sitting in a dark room undisturbed, with other people, and having the collective experience of watching a movie in the dark on the big screen. That experience you’re not going to get on any kind of device, even if it’s a huge screen you’ve got in your basement. These are important questions.

Anything else you want to get accomplished?

I’ve been very involved in the foreign language committee. I think we’re going to have 85 to 90 submissions in foreign language this year. I’d love to see more Academy members get involved in watching these movies. Hollywood loves to look at its own navel.